The Internet is a network of networks that can be used as a communication channel for a variety of purposes. One popular means of using this channel is as a vehicle for personal communications, via such means as e-mail, instant messaging, and even audio/video conferencing. These communications tend to be one-to-one, though some forms of one-to-many communications, such as blogs, have gained in popularity in recent years.
The Internet is also used to experience and share media content such as music, photos, and videos. Often this is accomplished through facilities provided by various internet-based services. For example, many services offer on-line photo albums where users can post digital images for viewing by friends or, in some cases, by anyone. Likewise, social networking services offer users the opportunity to connect with others and learn about their hobbies, interests, and perhaps exchange communications with those others. When it comes to sharing content experiences (i.e., the manner in which a particular user discovers, views or otherwise interacts with Internet-based content), however, these channels do not allow a user to effectively communicate his or her personal experiences with recipients of the communications.
For example, if a user discovers certain content at a particular internest site, and wanted to share that content with a friend (or anyone else for that matter), the user would have limited options. The user could perhaps send a link to the site at which the subject images are hosted (allowing the recipients to then visit the site and experience the images in their originally hosted environment), or repost the images as part of the blog (assuming such was permitted by the content owners) and thereby alter (perhaps significantly) the context in which those images were originally displayed. In the former case, while the viewing experience may be preserved (by having the reader visit the original content hosting site), the inconvenience to the recipient is apparent. Said reader would have to leave the messaging environment (e.g., the blog, e-mail, or other communication environment) and visit the hosting site. Even then, the recipient cannot be guaranteed that he/she will have the same experience as the sender of the communication, since the content site may have been modified since the original user's visit. In the latter case, where the content is republished as part of the communication, the recipient is spared the inconvenience of having to leave the communication environment, but the mere act of the republication ensures that the recipient will experience the content quite differently than was the case for the original user. For example, none of the original context of the host site will exist in the communication environment. This may mean that the recipient will fail to appreciate subtleties of the content that would otherwise be apparent were that content to be viewed or experienced in its original context.
Thus, what is needed is a new communication paradigm that allows recipients of a communication to experience the content being communicated in the same manner as a sender of the communication.